I am extremely disappointed…

I am extremely disappointed in my Provincial Government: I consider this bill and the proposed changes to the Greenbelt to be utterly shameful. Here are my reasons:

- There was no consultation with Indigenous groups, as is required by law

- Building in the Greenbelt is unnecessary. We have plenty of space already zoned for housing, and simply need to use more of it and to provide and protect low-income housing on that land.

- Paving and building on Greenbelt land will significantly exacerbate increasing flood risks in Ontario cities in coming decades.

- Altering the Greenbelt eliminate biodiversity in one of Canada’s most biodiverse regions, at a time when it is already in steep decline. It is especially offensive that this coincides with the United Nations conference in Montreal on how to protect what biodiversity we have left.

- This bill is opposed by major groups including multiple municipalities, the Christian Farmers’ Association, and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, as well as every Canadian environmental organization I know of.

- This bill breaks a clear campaign promise to leave the Greenbelt untouched.

- This bill is associated with a strong and credible suspicion of corruption as reported in many news sources.

Simply put, I find the proposal absolutely disgusting.